Typical pharmaceutical pouches known in the prior art constructed of nylon, including further a foil adhered layer, and further including a sealant resin or polyester material layer. The adhesion methods employed include the application of dry bond adhesives and various extruded polymers, such as polyethylene, EAA or Surlyn® materials. The conventional child-resistant pouch structure particularly includes, in succession from top to bottom, a 92 gauge polyester film or 100 gauge nylon film, an adhering low density polyethylene/acid copolymer extrusion laminating resin, a 35 gauge aluminum foil, and a polyethylene/acid copolymer or ionomer extrusion sealant resin.
The purpose behind employing the polyester film is to deter or prevent children from tearing or biting their way into the pouch. It has however been found that pouches constructed from these materials often fail more stringent child resistant protocols as outlined by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, this resulting from such as children biting and tearing into the pouch.
Additional examples drawn from the prior art include U.S. Pat. No. 6,199,698, issued to Hetrick et al., and which teaches a pouch for pharmaceutical, cosmetic, medical or similar products. The pouch includes a structure having a top laminate and a bottom laminate, with a pouch enclosure for the product formed in one portion of the structure. The top and bottom laminates are pouch enclosure portions are strongly adhered together in the periphery around the pouch enclosure.
A flap portion is formed by the remainder of the structure with a portion of the involved region of the top laminate and a portion of the involved region of the bottom laminate weakly adhered together and easily pulled apart. Arrangements for separating the flap portion and the pouch enclosure are situated at the interface established therebetween. A notch or slot is located in the strongly adhered periphery of the pouch enclosure portion adjacent to the flap portion. The flap portion is further sized larger than the pouch enclosure portion and both sides of the top laminate and bottom laminate are capable of being printed on.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,471,401 and 6,440,508, both issued to Tokita, teach a laminated film including an outer-layer film, a water soluble film, and an intermediate layer interposed between the outer-layer film and the water-soluble film. The intermediate layer contains high-pressure polyethylene oxidized to a prescribed degree on a surface thereof and contiguous to the water-soluble film. The outer-layer film and the intermediate layer adhere fast to each other and intermediate layer in turn directly contacts the water-soluble film in a weak and peel-able manner.